Confronted with two complex homicide cases to start her career as a prosecutor, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis hesitated to releasing any information as the public clamored for answers.
She had good reason, she says.
Both times, Ms. Salavantis reasoned, police were misled by an initial witness and authorities sensed the information wasn't reliable.
When a 14-year-old was shot dead outside his Wilkes-Barre home on April 5, a teenage friend claimed the shooter fled in a red car. As it turned out, there was never a drive-by shooter, Ms. Salavantis said.
After gunfire erupted in Edwardsville on May 16, a man was found dead and a wounded victim told police they were shot in a robbery attempt by a gunman who fled. The investigation determined the wounded man was actually the killer, the district attorney said.
"Coming out and speaking and giving the public a statement, it's difficult, because you don't know in the very beginning what is reliable and what is not," Ms. Salavantis said Friday in an interview at her office. "That is the toughest part of the job."
This is all new to Ms. Salavantis, 29, who assumed office in January after ousting incumbent District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll. Two years out of law school, Ms. Salavantis had no prior prosecutorial experience when she was elected as the county's top prosecutor.
The shooting death of 14-year-old Tyler Winstead near his Hill Street, Wilkes-Barre, home was her first homicide investigation. The fatal shooting of Daron Rhashawn Trollinger behind the Eagle Ridge Apartments in Edwardsville was the first crime scene she was at with the body still present.
Neither were quick, open-and-shut investigations. In both cases, police were initially provided false information that took time to debunk.
"That's fair to say. You're given a statement you want to rely upon and it takes the investigation to find out what occurred and who actually was involved," Ms. Salavantis said. "I try not to give information out to the public that I feel may not be accurate."
Winstead shooting
Ms. Salavantis said she was still at the office around 7:30 p.m. April 5 when she got the call from her chief detective that a 14-year-old was shot and his prospects to survive weren't good.
"This is going to be difficult," she remembers saying.
Little did she know.
Immediately after Tyler was found shot, his friend and neighbor Elijah Yussuf told police and the media that the teenager was gunned down by a drive-by shooter who fled in a red car.
Ms. Salavantis arrived at the scene, her first homicide, to try to gather the details regarding the death of the beloved GAR Junior/Senior High School student.
"I will never forget that night. Just being there and knowing what happened. It was tough," Ms. Salavantis said. "What gets you through is knowing we're going to fight to find out what happened to him."
Ms. Salavantis said investigators eventually learned the true story about what happened, and it wasn't a drive-by shooting. However, she says she is forbidden by the state Juvenile Act from discussing details.
Media members were barred from a May 30 hearing regarding the Winstead case. Prosecutors would only say the case involved a 13-year-old and did not deal with any of the 10 juvenile crimes that allow for a public hearing - like murder or voluntary manslaughter - for 12- and 13-year-olds. Yussuf was led away from the hearing in handcuffs.
Yussuf's home at 117 Hill St., where he lived with his mother, was searched several times by police, who seized evidence. Ms. Salavantis said the investigation is ongoing.
"As people are starting to learn about the Tyler Winstead shooting, I think people now realize why I was not open as everybody wished I was," Ms. Salavantis said. "It was a unique situation."
Edwardsville murder
The fatal shooting in Edwardsville on May 16 also presented challenges to investigators - one man was dead, another was wounded, and few witnesses could be found, she said.
Ms. Salavantis, who just got home when she got the call about the shooting, traveled to the scene to gather information and watched as the coroner examined Mr. Trollinger's lifeless body.
"It's another image you will never forget," she said.
George Lee Barnes, 22, the eventual suspect, told police someone shot him in a robbery attempt at the Eagle Ridge Apartments.
Again, another false story, police later learned.
Mr. Barnes suffered a gunshot wound to the upper chest, and a bullet graze wound to the head. He was treated at the hospital and was discharged hours later. It wasn't until the next day that police found a .22 caliber gun inside his Main Street, Edwardsville, apartment. Soon, they'd interview two informants who claimed they saw Mr. Barnes confront Mr. Trollinger, 26, with a gun during a planned marijuana deal.
By that time, Mr. Barnes had already fled the area, police said.
Authorities revealed little about the progress of the investigation until they filed an arrest warrant against Mr. Barnes on May 22.
"Within the first 72 hours, it's very critical for us to be able to interview and talk to as many people as we can who were at the scene or who have information about what may have occurred," Ms. Salavantis said. "It is important we don't divulge too much information until we fully know what occurred."
Mr. Barnes was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Philadelphia on May 25.
"We were told by Barnes, the person we arrested, it was an individual who tried to rob him and (Trollinger)," Ms. Salavantis said. "We come to find out that's not what occurred. As you saw in the (arrest) affidavit, it told you what the findings were in the investigation. It took awhile to gather everything."
A tough task
Some of these experiences may be new for Ms. Salavantis, but she doesn't feel unprepared. She said she surrounded herself with good people who help her make good decisions.
"I feel that it's not your age, it's how you handle yourself," Ms. Salavantis said. "Coming in, I'd have to say I am very fortunate. I have an amazing staff."
One thing she said she learned quickly is this isn't a 9-to-5 job.
"People ask me all the time, 'Do you feel overwhelmed?'" she said. "I love my position and I handle everything. You can work 24/7 and you will always have work. You have to sit back and breathe at times. You have to rely on other people as well. I take it one day at a time. That's all you can do."
Contact the writer: bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com, @cvbobkal on Twitter